Adult School Crossing Guard Guidelines -...

Adult School Crossing Guard

Guidelines

Prepared by the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, both part of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

SafeRoutesNational Center for Safe Routes to School

Safely Crossing the Street � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1

Role of the Adult School Crossing Guard � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2

Elements of a Crossing Guard Program � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3

Identifying the Locations Where Adult School Crossing Guards are Needed � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3

Hiring and Training Adult School Crossing Guards � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6

Uniform and Equipment for Adult School Crossing Guards � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 7

Funding the Adult School Crossing Guard Program � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 8

Crossing Procedures for a Variety of Situations � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 9

An Unsignalized Crosswalk � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 10

A Signalized Crosswalk � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 11

When Two or More Adult School Crossing Guards are Needed � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 12

When an Emergency Situation Arises � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13

Resources � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 14

Table of Contents

Safely Crossing the Street

Adult School Crossing Guard Guidelines v 1

Adult school crossing guards play an important role in the lives of children who walk or bicycle to school� They help children safely cross the street at key locations� They also remind drivers of the presence of pedestrians� The presence of adult crossing guards can lead to more parents feeling comfortable about their children walking or bicy-cling to school� While the primary role of an adult school crossing guard is to guide children safely across the street, children also remain responsible for their own safety� In this manner, a guard plays another key function–a role model helping children develop the skills necessary to cross streets safely at all times�

The design and implementation of an adult school crossing guard program is largely the decision of local communities� Some federal guidance exists and there are some state and local requirements pertaining to the operation of guard programs, but these vary across the country� State or local law enforcement, education or transportation agencies can provide information on state and local requirements�

Ideally, the development of an adult school crossing guard program should involve a community partnership that includes the expertise of law enforcement agencies, traffic engineering or planning departments and school systems� Working together with parents, this lead orga-nization or group identifies the locations where adult school crossing guards are needed and the appropriate number of guards for each location� The group estab-lishes crossing procedures for a variety of traffic situa-tions as well as hires, trains and equips the guards and secures long-term funding for the program�

This document describes federal standards and recom-mendations for adult school crossing guard practices and provides examples of how some states and communities address these issues�

The presence of adult crossing

guards can lead to more

parents feeling comfortable

about their children walking

or bicycling to school.


The Role of the Adult School Crossing Guard

The primary responsibility of an adult school crossing guard is to help children safely cross the street as they walk or bicycle to and from school�

A well-trained adult school crossing guard can help to ac-complish the following goals:

• Discourage children from behaving unsafely neartraffic, such as darting into the street without look-ing or crossing against a traffic signal� A guard can encourage safe behavior by all pedestrians at the school crossing�

• Use existing gaps in traffic to help students crosssafely� When the natural traffic flow does not allow enough time for children to safely cross a street, a guard may need to create gaps by stopping traffic temporarily� The guard stops traffic with hand sig-nals or a STOP paddle, then verbally directs chil-dren to cross the street� A guard is always the first person in the street and the last person out of the street�

• Alertmotoriststhatpedestriansareintheprocessofusing the school crossing�

• Observeandreportanyincidentsorconditionsthatpresent a potential safety hazard to the school chil-dren or the guard�

An adult school crossing guard should not direct traffic unless specifically trained as a traffic control officer�

Wilmington, DE

Adult School Crossing Guards are Eyes on the Street for:

• Unsafedriverbehaviors

• Unsafepedestrianbehaviors

• Unlawfulparking

• Constructioninterferingwithsafecrossing

• Unsafestreetconditions

• Damagedsigns

• Poorvisibility

• Suspiciousactivity

• Improperorlackofsafetybeltorbicyclehel-metuse


Elements of an Adult School Crossing Guard Program

Bringing together the right members of the community is the first step in creating a successful adult school cross-ing guard program� The school administration, teachers, local traffic engineers, law enforcement officers and par-ents are among the partners that bring information and expertise to the process and make the steps in setting up an adult school crossing guard program an easier process to manage� A local committee consisting of this group along with other interested members of the community should be established to oversee an adult school crossing guard program�

The adult school crossing guard lead organization is re-sponsible for:

• identifyinglocationswhereguardsareneeded,thenumber of guards and proper signage for each loca-tion, and the time period for crossings;

• hiringandtrainingguardsintheirresponsibilities;

• providinguniformsandequipment tohelpguardseffectively perform their duties; and

• securingfundstomanagetheprogram.

BrichtaElementarySchool,Tucson,AZ

MUTCD Provides National Guidance

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices2003(MUTCD)containsnationalstandardsfortheinstallationandmaintenanceoftrafficcontrolde-vicesandispublishedbytheFederalHighwayAd-ministrationundertheCodeofFederalRegulation.SomeMUTCDstatementsareconsideredmanda-tory,whileothersarerecommendedpractices,per-missivepractices,orsimplystatementsofsupport.Part7oftheMUTCDaddressesTrafficControlsforSchoolAreas(SeeResources)


Identifying the Locations Where Adult School Crossing Guards are Needed

No absolute national criteria exist for identifying which street crossings in a community require an adult school crossingguard.TheManualonUniformTrafficControlDevices(MUTCD)providessomegeneralfederalguidanceon how to determine the need for a guard at a particular location� Some states and local governments provide fur-ther guidance or recommendations, but the conditions under which a guard is assigned to a particular location vary around the country� The local lead organization decides the selection criteria by which adult school crossing guards are assigned to crossings� Location decisions reflect relevant federal, state and local policies and funding issues, and are tailored to the individual conditions and needs of a community�

The local lead organization identifies locations for guards by establishing criteria and gathering information to help them determine the need� Adult school crossing guards should be assigned to school crossings only after the need is established� Consistently applied local criteria allow a community to provide guard service where schools need them the most� No set of guidelines, however, can cover all the unique conditions that may exist� There are times when traffic engineering judgment is needed to deter-mine when and where an adult school crossing guard should be used�

Information to consider when identifying guard placement includes:

The age of the students who are crossing.Generally, younger children need more assistance than older children because they have a more difficult time judging the speed and distance of approaching vehicles and may be tempted to cross during an unsafe gap�

The width of the street and the number of lanes of traffic students must cross.Wide streets with multiple lanes of traffic typically require the use of two or more adult school crossing guards�

The sight distance at the crossing.These conditions are measured from the student’s and driv-

er’s perspectives and for actual vehicle operating speeds� Sight distance can be affected by temporary obstructions, such as parked vehicles and piled snow near the crossing�

Safe gaps in traffic.Are the gaps long enough and frequent enough to allow safe crossing opportunities? The ITE “School Trip Safety ProgramGuidelines”(SeeResources)statesthatontheaverage,atleastoneadequategapshouldoccureachminuteto allow for children to cross without undue delay or risk� However, other factors, such as volume of child pedestri-ans or pedestrian groups should also be considered when determining the need for adult school crossing guards or

Defining “A Safe Gap in Traffic”

TheMUTCD2003Section7E.02statesthatadultschool crossing guards “may be used to providegapsintrafficataschoolcrossingwhereanengi-neeringstudyhasshownthatadequategapsneedtobecreatedandwhereauthorizedby law.”Anacceptable gapmaybedefined as theminimumtimebetweenvehiclesthat85percentofallgroupsofpedestrianswaitingtocrossastreetwillacceptasadequate tocross thestreet,according to theInstituteofTransportationEngineer’s“SchoolTripSafetyProgramGuidelines.”

Ifthereisatleastonesafegapperminuteofcross-ingtime,theremaybenoneedforanyspecialtraf-ficcontrols. If,however, there isnotat leastonesafegapperminute,officialsshouldconsiderusinganadultcrossingguardortrafficsignaltocreatesafegaps.

Inpractice, thisanalysis is time-consumingtocal-culateandmaydiscourageagenciesfromattempt-ingsuchanevaluation.Trafficspeed,widthofthestreetandtheageofthechildrenarealsoimportantconsiderationsindeterminingifacrossinglocationwillbenefitfromanadultschoolcrossingguard.


other traffic control� If traffic volumes during crossing hours do not correspond to enough safe gaps, some method to interrupt traffic should be considered, such as a crossing guard or traffic signal�

Presence of traffic control devices, including traffic signals, signs and pavement.If present, are the traffic controls sufficient? For example, a signalized intersection at a school crossing location should haveWALK/DON’TWALKsignals,andapedestrianpushbutton may also be appropriate� Guards and students should be properly trained on traffic signals relative to safe street crossings�

The speed of vehicles at the crossing.Vehicles that travel faster require greater stopping distanc-es, and younger children have more difficulty than adults judging the speed of a fast-approaching vehicle�

Volumes of traffic and pedestrians.Local transportation planning or engineering departments can provide or help collect these data� Vehicle counts may be readily available, but pedestrian counts will likely need to be made during this process� The number of students

California Criteria for the Placement of Adult School Crossing Guards

TheStateofCaliforniaprovidescriteriafortheplace-mentofadultschoolcrossingguardsintheMUTCD2003, California Supplement. Adult school cross-ingguardsnormallyareassignedwhereatleast40schoolpedestriansoverthecourseoftwohourseachdaycrossapublichighwayonthewaytoorfromschool.Guardsalsoshouldbeconsideredwhenspe-cialsituationsmakeitnecessarytoassistelementaryschoolpedestriansincrossingthestreet.

Insomecases,achangeintheschoolcrossingloca-tionisunderway,butprevailingconditionsrequirecrossingsupervisionuntilthechangeiscompleted,soaguardshouldbeconsidered.Additionalcriteriaare provided for specific situations, including un-controlledcrossings,stopsign-controlledcrossingsandtrafficsignal-controlledcrossings.Thecriteriaarebasedonvehiculartrafficvolume,vehiclespeedandthenumberofvehicularturningmovements.

Arizona Requirements for the Placement of Adult School Crossing Guards

Arizona State Law (ARS Section 28-797-D) man-dates an adult school crossing guard at a yellow15 mph school crosswalk if the school crosswalkisnotadjacenttotheschoolsite.Theseguardsareemployedbytheschooldistrict.Adultschoolcross-ingguardsarerecommended,butnotrequired,bystatelawat15mphschoolzonecrossingsthatareadjacent to the school site.Theseguardsmaybeeither employed by the school district or be vol-unteers,whohavebeentrainedandapprovedbytheschooldistrict.(TrafficSafetyforSchoolAreasGuidelines,ADOT)

TheCityofPhoenix requiresadult school crossingguardsforelementaryschoolcrossingsonbusycol-lectorstreetsandarterialstreets.Insomecases,twoguards may be recommended. At white-paintedcrosswalksandsignalizedcrossings,guardscanberecommendedusingamethodbasedonobserva-tionandengineeringjudgmentusingspecificcriteriasuchasstreetclassificationandtheageofstudents.

Pedestrian Signal Heads

Pedestriansignalheadsprovideinformationtocon-trolpedestriantraffic.Chapter4EoftheMUTCDlists the meaning of pedestrian signal indicators.A steady WALK (walking person) signal meansthat a pedestrian facing the signal may start tocrossthestreet.AflashingDON’TWALK(upraisedhand)signalmeansthatapedestrianshallnotstartto cross the street, but that any pedestrian whohasstartedtocrossshallfinishcrossing.AsteadyDON’TWALK(upraisedhand)signalmeansthatapedestrianshallnotenterthestreet.


currently using pedestrian facilities as well as the projected pedestrian demand based on school demographics should be determined�

The attendance boundary and walk zone for each school.The distances that walk zones extend from schools as well as policies regarding the provision of bus service differ among states and communities� Both can impact the number of children walking to school and the routes they take�

The distance the crossing is from a school and the type of adjacent land use.A crossing in close proximity to a school within a residential neighborhood may attract more student pedestrians than, for example, a crossing located further from a school surrounded by non-residential land uses�

Crash history of the crossing.The number, type and time of day that each crash occurs at a specific location should be recorded and analyzed�

Hiring and Training Adult School Crossing Guards

The hiring, training, supervising and funding of adult school crossing guards is typically the responsibility of lo-cal law enforcement agencies, traffic engineering depart-ments, individual schools or school districts�

An adult school crossing guard can be a paid employee or a volunteer member of the community� Paid employees may be preferred because an employer has the ability to train, evaluate and discipline an employee� Every prospec-tive guard should undergo a basic physical examination and criminal background check� A guard should have good vi-sion, hearing and mobility, be able to stand for long periods of time outdoors and to communicate well with others�

It is critical that a guard can communicate clearly with the children he or she supervises at the crossing� If a guard cannot adequately read or understand English, training materials must be provided in a language in which the guard is proficient� Ideally, a guard should have good Eng-lish language skills� Adult school crossing guard training is an essential step to help insure that the guard is performing properly� Train-ing should be extended to substitute guards as well as those who supervise the crossing guards� Training meth-ods include both classroom instruction and field exercises and should address:

• Thebasictrafficlawsofthecommunity.

• Schoolzonesignageandpavementmarkings.

Training in Florida

The Stateof Florida’sDepartmentof Transportationhasdevelopeduniformtrainingguidelines,andeachlocalgovernmentinFloridathatadministersaschoolcrossingguardprogramisrequiredtoprovidetrainingfor itsguardsaccording to theguidelines. Formoreinformation visit http://www.dot.state.fl.us/safety/ped_bike/brochures/pdf/SCG%20Training%20Guidelines2009.pdf

Training in North Carolina

According to theofficeof theNorthCarolinaAt-torneyGeneral,schoolcrossingguardsmaybecon-sidered traffic controlofficerswhenproper train-ing is provided as specified in North Carolina GS20-114.1, the law thataddresses the trainingandappointment of traffic control officers. In 1998,TheNorthCarolinaDepartmentofTransportation’sDivision of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportationdevelopedaprogramtotrainthelocallawenforce-mentofficerswhoareresponsiblefortrainingadultschoolcrossingguardsintheirjurisdictions.


• Properuseandpurposeoftrafficsignsandsignals.

• Methodsofsignalingdriversandtakingadvantageoftrafficgaps.

• Crossingproceduresandwaystoteachthemtochildren.

• Site-specifictrafficfactorsandpotentialtraffichazards.

• Professionalworkresponsibilities, includingagencyrulesandregulations,whotheguard’s supervisor is, theproper chain of command and legal aspects of the job�

• Properattireandbehaviortoremainsafeandtoprojectapositivepublicimage.Forexample,whileonthejob,aguard should not wear clothing that is in poor taste or that promotes alcohol, tobacco or similar products� Also, a guard should not carry or use tobacco products or use foul language� Adult school crossing guards project a positivepublicimageandserveasarolemodelforchildren.(FormoreinformationseeUniformsandEquip-ment)

• Properuseofsafetyequipment.

• Thesafetyissuesandlimitationsofchildrenaspedestrians.

• Proceduresforcrashesinvolvingadultschoolcrossingguardsandchildrenontheirwaytoorfromschool.

• Emergencyprocedures.(ForspecificinformationseeWhenanemergencysituationarisesunderCrossingpro-cedures)

• Protectingthehealthandwelfareoftheguardwhileworking,includingtopicssuchasproperattiretoincreasevis-ibility, the need for hydration, sun protection, bee sting treatment and how to respond to threats from loose dogs�

Uniforms and Equipment for Adult School Crossing Guards

An adult school crossing guard wears a uniform and uses equipment that is highly visible and easily identifiable by the general public� This enhanced visibility allows motor-ists and pedestrians to see the guard and the signal the guard presents more clearly�

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices(MUTCD) recommends that an adult school crossingguard be uniformed so that street users and pedestrians can recognize the guard and respond to the guards’ signals� The guard uniform should be distinctively different from those worn by regular law enforcement officers� Adult school crossing guards should wear retro-reflective traffic vests� TheMUTCDprovidesguidelinesforsuchhigh-visibilityretro-reflective safety apparel to be worn by guards�

TheMUTCDrecommendsthataguarduseaSTOPpad-dle as the primary hand-signaling device� States and local governments address hand-signaling devices in a variety of ways� Some jurisdictions require the use of a STOP paddle, others recommend its use, and yet others recommend its use inconjunctionwithhand-signals.IfaSTOPpaddleisused,theMUTCDsetsguidelinesontheshape,sizeanddesign

National Stop Paddle Requirements

TheMUTCDonlyrecommendstheuseofaSTOPpaddle.Ifapaddleisused,thefollowingstandardapplies.

TheMUTCDstates:“TheSTOPpaddleshallbeanoctagonal shape. The background of the STOPfaceshallberedwithatleast150mm(6in)capi-talwhite lettersandborder.Thepaddleshallbeatleast450mm(18in)insizeandhavethewordmessage STOP on both sides. The paddle shallbe retro-reflectorized or illuminated when usedduring hours of darkness.” Finally, the MUTCDprovides options for modifications to the STOPpaddle, including the addition of flashing lights,toimproveitsvisibility.


of the paddle�Other potential pieces of guard equipment include gloves, a hat and a whistle� Wearing a hat gives a guard a more official appearance and can enhance his or her visibility, as well as protect the guard from the sun, cold, and rain� Whistles may help a guard gain the atten-tion of children at noisy intersections�

If a guard is equipped with two-way radios or cell phones, they must be used only in emergencies� A guard should never answer the phone or radio while crossing children� In fact, some agencies prohibit cell phones to avoid dis-tractions�

As the local committee identifies what type of equipment to use, it should also decide on guidelines that will explain when equipment is considered unsuitable for use� For exam-ple, a guard should not use old, defaced or worn out STOP paddles or safety vests that are no longer reflective or that have faded�

Funding the Adult School Crossing Guard Program

Stable and sufficient funding is important to the effective operation of any adult school crossing guard program� Across the nation, a variety of sources have been used� Communities have obtained financial resources through taxes, local school boards, sheriff, police, public works and traffic engineering departments, and through surcharges on parking fines� Public and private organizations as well as Parent-Teacher Associations or Organizations also have contributed funding for guard programs�

EstesHillsElementarySchool,ChapelHill,NC

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State Variations on Stop Paddle Requirements and Uniforms

TheMUTCD2003CaliforniaSupplementrequirestheSTOPpaddletobetheprimaryhand-signalingdevice and allows for theuseof a larger paddlewhere speeds are 30 mph or more and guardsneedgreatervisibility.

TheStateofFloridarequiresanadultschoolcross-ingguard towear ahigh-visibility, retroreflectiveoutergarment(vest,shirt,orrainwear)that is la-beled as ANSI 107-2004 standard performanceforClass2riskexposure.Theapparelbackgroundmaterialshallbeeitherfluorescentyellowgreenorfluorescentorange-red.Aguardshallbeequippedwith a whistle, as well as a STOP Paddle that isMUTCDcompliantand/ororangeoryellow-greenglovesthatincluderetroreflectivematerial.(Ifbothglovesandstoppaddleareused,theglovesneednotincluderetroreflectivematerial.)

TheStateofNorthCarolinastronglyrecommendstheuseofhand-heldsignsorSTOPpaddles,butal-lowsthelocalgoverningagencytodecidewhetheraguarduseseitheraSTOPpaddleoranorange-glovedhand,orboth.


Crossing Procedures for a Variety of Situations

Recommended procedures are described below for an adult school crossing guard to follow when crossing chil-dren in a variety of traffic situations� The information was compiled from the Arizona Handbook for Adult School Crossing Guards, the Florida School Crossing Guard Training Guidelines and the North Carolina School Crossing GuardProgram:TrainingManual(SeeResourcesatendofthisdocumentforfurtherinformation.)

Procedures are described for guards in situations at un-signalized crosswalks and signalized crosswalks, when two or more adult school crossing guards are needed, and when an emergency arises� Some intersection configura-tions, including T-intersections, roundabouts or free-flow right turn lanes, require that the local committee consider these unique situations when establishing the procedure for crossing children�

In every situation, a guard uses the proper search pattern for crossing a street and encourages student pedestrians to follow these safety steps� This pattern is:

1� Stop at the curb or edge of the street�

2� Look left, right, then left again for traffic�

3� Look over the shoulder for possible turning vehicles if the pedestrian is standing at an intersection�

4� Walk directly across the street at a consistent pace and continue scanning the street while crossing the street�

Forstoppingmotorists,theMUTCDrecommendsthatanadultschoolcrossingguarduseaSTOPpaddleasthepri-mary hand-signaling device� However, many jurisdictions around the country allow guards to use clearly delivered hand signals, alone or in conjunction with the STOP paddle, to alert traffic to activity at school crossings� The proper hand signal for a guard to alert and stop traffic requires a guard to raise his or her arm forward and toward traffic, and parallel to the ground with the palm and fingers flexed upward� The use of hand signals requires a higher level of training than the use of STOP paddles, and guards using hand signals will benefit from wearing white or bright orange gloves to attract drivers’ attention�

StateStreetSchool,Windsor,VT


An Unsignalized Crosswalk

At unsignalized crosswalks, it is the responsibility of the crossing guard to determine when children cross based on gaps in traffic flow� A guard who is assigned to an unsig-nalized crosswalk on an undivided street should:

• Standnearthecurboredgeofthestreet,onthesidefrom which children are approaching�

• Stopchildrenasafedistancebackfromthecurboredgeofthestreet,orbehinda“stand-back”line(seebottomphoto).Instructchildrentocrossonlyontheguard’s signal�

• Teachchildrenwhoapproachacrossingonabicycle,scooter, or skateboard to dismount and push the bi-cycle or scooter or carry the skateboard across the street as a pedestrian�

• Aguardentersthestreetinthefollowingsequence:

1� Wait for a gap in traffic on the guard’s side of the street�

2� Face the closest oncoming traffic and make eye contact with the approaching drivers�

3� Walk to the center of street with the STOP pad-dle held high� If not using a STOP paddle, walk to the center of the street with an arm raised to-ward traffic and parallel to the ground with the palm and fingers extended upward�

4� Where there are more than two lanes, enter the street and alert the traffic one lane at a time�

5� Face opposite approaching traffic and make eye contact with those drivers�

6� Stand on the crosswalk line close to the center of the street and make sure that all traffic has stopped, including any turning vehicles�

7� Face the intersection�

8� Verbally instruct the children to cross and tell them to look left-right-left while crossing and proceed across the street within the marked crosswalk�

9.Donotallowanycarstocrossthecrosswalkuntilallthestudentshavecrossed.

10� Remain in the center of the street until the last child reaches the opposite side of the street�

11� Walk to the curb or edge of the street with the STOP paddle and/or stop-arm held high the entire way� When backatthecurboredgeofthestreet,lowerhand(s)andallowtraffictoflowagain.

12� Remain near the curb or edge of the street for the next group of children to assemble�

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A Signalized Crosswalk

A variety of traffic and pedestrian signals are found at signalized crosswalks including traffic signals with stan-dard pedestrian signal heads and, in some locations, traf-fic signals with pedestrian countdown signals which show pedestrians how much crossing time remains� Signalized crosswalks may also have pedestrian pushbuttons which are electronic buttons used by pedestrians to change the traffic signal timing� An adult school crossing guard should be trained in the proper use of the signal at the crossing where he or she will work�

In general, a guard stands in the center of the street while students cross the crosswalk� If the signal’s timing is too short to allow this approach, however, the local committee should take steps to remedy the situation� For example, more guards could be assigned to the crosswalk, more time could be added to the signal or the guard could escort the students across the entire street and return to his or her original starting position on the next signal cycle� If a guard escorts students across the entire street, the guard must instruct the other children to wait until he or she returns before crossing�

A guard who is assigned to signalized crosswalks has this sequence to follow:

• Standonthesideofthestreetfromwhichchildrenareapproaching.Ifthereisapedestrianpushbutton,pushthe button for a WALK signal�

• Groupchildrenasafedistancefromthecurboredgeofthestreetorbehindthe“stand-back”line.Instructchildren to cross only at the guard’s signal�

• Teachchildrenwhoapproachacrossingonabicycle,scooter,orskateboardtodismountandpushthebicycleorscooter or carry the skateboard across the street as a pedestrian�

• Enterthestreetinthissequence:

1� Enter the street only with a WALK signal, and the STOP paddle or stop-arm held high� Stand on the crosswalk line closest to the intersection�

2� Face oncoming traffic and make eye contact with drivers who are attempting to turn�

3. Verballyinstructthestudentstobegintheirsearch(left,right,leftandovertheirshoulders,forturningtraffic)and cross when safe�

4. Tellthestudentstocontinuewalkingifthesignalchangestoflashing“DON’TWALK”,butdonotallowchil-drentostartcrossingatthistime.Helpstudentslearnthataflashing“DON’TWALK”signalmeansDon’tStart.

5� Wait for children to reach the opposite side of the street�

6� Return to the curb or edge of the street with your STOP paddle or stop-arm held high� After reaching the curboredgeofthestreet,aguardcanlowerhisorherhand(s)andallowtraffictoflowagain.


When Two or More Adult School Crossing Guards are Needed

For signalized or unsignalized crossings with four or more lanes, experts recommend using two adult school crossing guards working in unison, with one guard posi-tioned on each side of the street� Each guard stands on the crosswalk line closest to the approaching traffic for his or her half of the street and between the approaching traffic and the students�

A team of two or more guards should be assigned to school crossings at divided streets to help children cross safely� One guard stops one stream of traffic while the other guard stops traffic in the opposite lanes� In order to coordinate signaling, the guard on the side of the street from which children are approaching makes the decisions, with the second guard taking his or her cues from the first guard� Guards should not cross students during the protected left turn signal when the DON’T WALK signal flashes andensure that all right-turning vehicles yield while students are crossing�

More than two guards may also be needed at an intersec-tion of two major arterial streets where children must cross two or more legs of the intersection�

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Redoctagonsrepresentadultschoolcrossingguardloca-tiononamulti-laneroad.


When an Emergency Situation Arises

Duringaguard’sduty,emergencysituations,suchasasuddenillnessoraninjuryduetoacrash,mayoccurneartheschool crossing� In the case of an emergency, a guard must stay at his or her post, keep control of the situation, and use the following basic procedure to ensure the children’s safety:

1� Stop crossing the children�

2� Group the children away from the street to maintain control�

3� Remain at the assigned post with the children�

4� Ask several people to call 911�

5.Donotmovethevictim,unlessthevictimisinseri-ous and immediate danger of being struck by another vehicle�

6� Use a vehicle to block the crash victim from traf-fic, if necessary� The vehicle should be positioned a distance away from the victim to provide protection from other vehicles but, if struck would not endanger the victim or rescue workers�

7� Always notify the supervisor as soon as possible of any emergency that occurred�

When fire trucks, ambulances or other emergency vehicles approach the crossing with emergency lights and sirens in use, the guard keeps children out of the street and a safe distance away from the crossing until the emergency vehicles have passed�

Ideally,aguardshouldtakeafirstaidshortcourseandaCPRclassofferedbytheRedCrossorthelocalFireDepart-ment to learn the best way to respond to an emergency situation�


Resources

• AAAvideoforsaleBetweentheLines:AdultSchoolCrossingGuardTraining.http://www.aaafoundation.org/products/index.cfm?button=item-detail&ID=404&storeid=1[Accessed:08/14/06]

• ArizonaHandbookforAdultSchoolCrossingGuards,CityofPhoenix(1-602-262-4659)andAAAArizona(602-241-2933or1-800-352-5382ext.2933).

• FloridaSchoolCrossingGuardTrainingGuidelines,FloridaDepartmentofTransportation,SafetyOfficeandthe Florida School Crossing Guard Task Force, 1998� http://www�dot�state�fl�us/safety/ped_bike/brochures/pdf/SCG%20Training%20Guidelines2009.pdf[Accessed:09/21/09]

• ManualonUniformTrafficControlDevicesforStreetsandHighways,Part7TrafficControlsforSchoolAreas,U.S.DepartmentofTransportation,FederalHighwayAdministration,2003.http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2003r1/Ch7.pdf[Accessed:03/07/06]

• ManualonUniformTrafficControlDevices2003:CaliforniaSupplement,StateofCaliforniaBusiness,Trans-portationandHousingAgency,DepartmentofTransportation,2004.http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/sign-tech/mutcdsupp/pdf/MUTCD2003CASupp.pdf[Accessed:03/07/06]

• NorthCarolinaSchoolCrossingGuardProgram:TrainingManual,NorthCarolinaDepartmentofTransporta-tion,DivisionofBicycleandPedestrianTransportation,1999.

• SchoolTripSafetyProgramGuidelines:RecommendedPractice,InstituteofTransportationEngineers,1984.(outofprint)

• TrafficSafetyforSchoolAreasGuidelines,ArizonaDepartmentofTransportation,2003.http://www.azdot.gov/highways/Traffic/standards/School_Safety/Schoolsafety.pdf[Accessed03/07/06]

Prepared by the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, both part of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Information provided by FloridaDepartmentofTransportation,NorthCarolinaDepartmentofTransportation, ArizonaDepartmentofTransportation,CityofPhoenixStreetTransportationDepartment

SafeRoutesNational Center for Safe Routes to School

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